Air freshening devices are used to replace and mask unpleasant odors in an enclosed area such as a room with a pleasant smelling scent. Air freshening devices are also used to scent an enclosed area with a desired smell even when there is no unpleasant odor present.
One of the most commonly used air freshening devices is an aerosol in which a propellant is used to eject a disinfectant or pleasant smelling scent from a metal can or from some other type of container. Other commonly used air freshening devices include incense, powders, oils, flowers, herbs, gels or solids which are placed in a stationary spot in the area in which the air is to be freshened. Another more recent type of air freshening device involves the use of a container holding a volatile material in conjunction with an electrically heated vapor dispensing apparatus. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,849,606 entitled TAMPER-RESISTANT CONTAINER UTILIZING A FLEXIBLE SEAL issued on Mar. 20, 1979 to Edward J. Martens et al. and assigned to S. C. Johnson & Son, Inc.
All of the aforementioned air freshening devices suffer from a common drawback. They all rely on the natural air currents contained in the enclosed area in which the air freshening device is placed to diffuse the air freshening material. It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide an air freshening device which utilizes a means for forcing air such as a central heating/air conditioning system or car air conditioner to help diffuse the air freshening material throughout the enclosed area in which the air is to be freshened.